


Frozen Flames

by BarryBakvet



Category: Original Work
Genre: Fantasy, Original Character(s), Original Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:28:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24023596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarryBakvet/pseuds/BarryBakvet
Summary: Destrian the pyromancer and Meryk the cryomancer are the infamous bounty hunting twins They get hired to assassinate 3 captains to help a resistance group fight the corrupt and rotting empire. They meet new people and get reunited with old friends along the way.
Relationships: Destrian of Vendril/Elizabeth Gundersen, Meryk of Vendril/Emeline Sieghburg





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so here we go. This is my first story that I´ve written so any criticism and feedback is greatly appreciated. English isn´t my native language so apologies for any errors in grammar. I also want to thank Ana for giving me ideas and feedback and overall being a massive help. With that said enjoy!

Chapter 1: Emeline

Destrian rode into the little village on his horse. His brother Meryk next to him. There was a crowd of onlookers when they entered the village. That was because there were several dead bodies on the back of the two horses. Destrian´s face was also covered in blood and the two swords that hung on his back were more red than silver-colored. All those bodies were bandits that pillaged every village in the vicinity. There was a bounty on each and every one of those bandits and they were about to collect all of it. They stopped before a building that seemed to be the town hall. They walked inside and looked around. As soon as they entered the building heads turned towards them. “Ah, finally back from your trip it seems,” said the mayor. Meryk gave a curt nod in acknowledgment. Destrian spoke up, “We got the whole crew that´s fifteen of them so that would be 1500 gold.” “I wouldn't expect any less of the best bounty hunters on the continent.” Meryk went over and collected the pouch with gold. “Would there perhaps be a tavern nearby where we could stay for the night and clean up?” Destrian asked. The man then explained where the tavern was and how to get there. “The bodies are already taken care of.” “Thank you,” They both said. 

After having exchanged their goodbyes the brothers went to the tavern and got a room. Destrian went over to the bar and ordered a beer. “Well look at that, the legendary bounty hunter Meryk of Vendril” a voice came from behind. He turned around to see a woman in a hooded cloak. “Emeline” he spoke to her in a monotone voice. The woman gave an unsuspecting Meryk a hug. “How long was it since I last saw you?” She asked. “About 4 years” he answered. “And who might this lovely lady be dear brother of mine?” Destrian asked as he took a seat at the bar. “This is Emeline an old friend of mine” he said. “Ah just a friend yours am I?” she said in a mock offended tone. “As I recall we were much more than just friendly with each other Meryk”. Destrian had a shocked look on his face. “You had a lover Meryk?” he asked confused. “Yes Destrian we had a relation for 2 years, I told you about this at least 3 times brother.” “Owh, must have forgotten than” he said “So what brings you here Emeline?” Meryk asked. “Actually I was searching for you Meryk.” she answered. “But do I need a reason to see you, can´t I look for you just because I missed you?” Meryk rolled his eyes. “I missed you too Emeline” he said in a sarcastic tone. “This is the first time I´ve seen Meryk like this, they must have shared a special bond” Destrian thought as he saw the ex lovers converse with each other. 

Meanwhile Emeline was in shock when she saw the state Meryk was in, he had scars along his arms and a burn mark along his neck. She also noticed the change in personality he went trough, he's never been the most outgoing person but he has a much darker look on his face. I wonder what happened she mused internally. She finished talking to Meryk and went over to Destrian. “Destrian can I speak to you?” Emeline asked. He gave her a nod and went to a back room. “What happened with him?” she asked once they were alone. “Oh you mean the fact that he doesn't talk much and that he's really cold to most people?” he said. “If I'm being honest with you I really don't know, ever since we reunited 2 years ago he was like that.” “Did you try and ask him what was wrong” she asked. “I did but everytime it comes up he just gets a grim look on his face and he isolates himself for a few days.” “I don´t know what happened in those 2 years when we didn't see him but it must be bad to so drastically change his personality.” he said. “He wasn't like this when we were together. she said softly. “Maybe I can talk to him” she said. Destrian chuckled softly. “Good luck I've tried it for the last one and a half years.” Emeline went back to Meryk and she saw him at the table with a golden pendant in his hand. He had an expression on his face that suggested pure hatred, rage and anger. “Where did you get that” she asked. Meryk quickly put the pendant away and his expression changed from anger to sour. “I gotta go, got some errands to run I´ll be back by dawn.” with those words said he quickly left the bar and went on his way to do his ¨errands¨. “I should've told you about that” Destrian spoke up from behind her. “Sometimes he takes that pendant out and just stares at it.” “I don´t know how he got it or from who it is but the symbol seems oddly familiar, have you seen it before?” he asked. “Yeah I've definitely seen it before but I can't quite remember where I´ve seen it” she answered. “The pendant is really special to him he hasn't told me why and he never lets me look at it much less hold it.” “Any suspicion as to why it's so important Destrian?” she asked. “No but the look he has on his face when he holds it is not one that suggests fond memories, he looks at it with disgust and hatred” he finished. “It really pains me to see him so broken” she said. “I think we both know he wasn't the most cheerful person, he has always been very reserved.” “But as you describe his behaviour over the past 1,5 years it seems like he went from reserved to outright anti social, maybe even apathetic” she finished. “You´re welcome to try and see what happened to him anytime.” “But my brother´s weird attitude aside, care to amuse me with the story behind your relationship with him?” he asked while wiggling his eyebrows. “I'll humorise you with our story than” she said. “He probably told you this already but 8 years ago we were in a mercenary group together with 4 other people, Meryk and I bonded with each other almost instantly.” “We were inseparable and nobody could there us asunder.” “May I ask what the name of this mercenary group would be?” Destrian asked. “The group was called the frostbite angels” she answered. “Wait wait wait those frostbite angels the angels that assassinated the corrupt captain and killed his entire legion?” He exclaimed with a shocked expression on his face. “Yes those unfortunately Meryk and I are the only members left the rest went missing and were never found” she said with a sad expression on her face. “But yeah Meryk and I were inseparable we were always seen together, eventually that friendship turned into romance and we were a couple for 2 years.” “Why did you two break up if I might ask?” Destrian asked. “Well we both had our own plans once we had enough money from our mercenary jobs, so we went our separate ways I just finished my trip from over the mountains a few months ago” she answered. The two continued talking in the tavern until dawn fell and Meryk came back. 

Meryk came back from his ¨errands¨ and sat down next to Emeline. “You okay?” she asked him. “Yeah everything's just fine, why´d you ask?” “Where is Destrian?” Noticing he wanted to change the subject she figured she would ask him what was wrong another time. “He's upstairs cleaning his swords and armor.” Meryk and Emeline kept talking to each other until Destrian was done. “Okay now we´re all done and caught up I´ll tell you the reason why I´m actually here” “Not just because you missed me?” “That pains my heart to hear Emeline.” Meryk said. Emeline gave him a look and then went on with her story. “Anyways, I have a job for you two but It's a risky one.” Destrian spoke up “What´s the job and what's the pay” “The job is the assassination of the 3 generals of the imperial legion general Tybalt, general Sadon and General Guinevere. “Wait wait wait General Guinevere?” Destrian shook his head and Meryk had a grim expression on his face. “I take almost all jobs but I'm not even going to try and kill her she killed an entire army in a matter of minutes.” “We'll do it” Meryk spoke up. “Are you insane brother?” Destrian exclaimed in shock. “Have you heard the stories of what she did?” “Yes I've heard them and and I take the job even if I have to do it alone.” “Sleep on it for a night and tell me if you´re going with me or not tomorrow” with that said Meryk went upstairs and presumably went to sleep. “H- he hasn't even asked about the pay yet and he accepted” Destrian spoke with utter bewilderment. “This is completely out of character for him” Destrian thought. “Look I'm not trying to tear you two apart from each other but if he still wants to go tomorrow I'll happily accept his help, this is a really difficult job and we need al the help we can get” she said. “What is the pay actually?” Destrian asked. “900000 gold for all three generals.” That's more than fair for the value of the targets Destrian thought. “Okay I'm going to think about this some more if you make sure you´re here in the morning than I´ll give you my answer.” “Alright that's fair I'm sleeping in this tavern too so I'll likely be hanging around here too.” “Goodnight Destrian” with that she went upstairs. 

She knocked on Meryk´s door. “Come in” came from the otherside of the door. “I came to talk about the pay” she came and sat beside him. “To be honest I don't care about the pay” he said. She looked at him shock ridden on her face. “I do have one condition though.” “And what would that condition be Meryk?” “When given the chance I want to fight Guinevere one on one but if that isn't an option than I want you guys to bring her in alive and let me kill her.” Of all the things he could have chosen he chose this? Emeline thought. “I- I think we could make that happen” she said still shocked by his answer. “Good” “If you don´t mind Emeline I would like to go to sleep now” “Yes sweet dreams Meryk.” “Sweet dreams Emeline.” Everyone in the tavern was asleep, aside from Meryk he could be seen sitting on his bed with the golden pendant clutched in his hand. “Your day of reckoning is coming very soon Guinevere” he softly said. He then laid the pendant beside his bed and went to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just finished chapter 2 it´s a bit shorter than chapter 1. Again a massive thank you to Ana for helping me with writing this story.

Chapter 2: Scars of the past

Meryk woke up early in the morning and quickly got changed. He put on his equipment, took his bow, and grabbed the pendant from beside his bed. As quiet as possible he opened the door of his room and went on his way. He began walking down the street when he noticed a hooded figure following him. He went around the corner and hid in a small crevice. When the person tracking him walked past the crevice he summoned an ice dagger and held it to her throat. “Chill Meryk it´s me.” The person took off her hood only to reveal Emeline underneath it. “Why were you following me Em?” he asked. “Why are you sneaking out this early Meryk” she retorted. “I was not sneaking out I was just heading out for some training since I'm supposed to fight Guinevere. “Hmmm, interesting it seemed as if Meryk knew Guinevere personally.” “He spoke her name with a hint of familiarity.” Guinevere was interrupted by Meryk. “If you don´t mind I´ll be on my way then,” he said. “If you´re just going to train you won´t mind me tagging along right?” He gave an irritated sigh. “Alright but don´t interrupt me unless it is important.” She simply nodded and the two quietly walked to an open field.

“Yesterday I´ve set up multiple targets on this field for me to practice.” She looked around and indeed saw multiple targets. She looked at Meryk and noticed he didn´t have a quiver on his back. “How are you going to hit the targets than as I remember you need arrows to shoot,” she said to him. “I don´t” he then created a solid arrow made out of ice and shot it from his bow it hit the target square in the chest. He then summoned arrow after arrow and shot them in rapid succession. Each and every one of them hit the targets in the middle of their chest. Emeline could only look in bewilderment at his skill. “Back when we were both members of the frostbite angels he was by far the best bowman I´ve ever seen but this is on a whole other level,” she thought. “He must´ve had special training from someone because he wouldn´t get this strong on his own.” She kept looking for a few more minutes before focusing her attention on something else. She grabbed information on the generals from her cloak and began reading it. Then she got to General Guinevere´s file. “General Guinevere al corvum´s family was wiped out when she was young. She was put into an orphanage without any family left. Guinevere fought in many tournaments and underground fight clubs to make money. Eventually, her talent got recognized by the now-deceased general Ulrich. She was personally trained by him and in a short time became the continent’s fiercest warrior. But Guinevere got blinded by the desire to become stronger. She searched for ways to become even more powerful en she stumbled across an ancient temple. In that temple was an ancient scroll containing a ritual. If said ritual would be completed then the person who did it was granted control over shadows. But the power came at a cost and a high one at that. She went completely insane. Once she was back in the empire her personality completely changed. She became a sadistic monster. Her bloodlust only further fueled those sadistic urges. She only cared for battle and nothing else. She tortures people for fun. There once was a small group under her command called the ravens but they all died in a fire at night. The group all had golden pendants in with a raven on it to signify that they were a part of her special force. She looked at a drawing of the pendant. “That looks a lot like the one Meryk has,” she thought. “Oh my goodness it is the one Meryk has,” she said. Guinevere went over to Meryk. “Didn´t I tell you me not to interrupt me unless it was important,” he said when he saw her approach. “Oh, so a mercenary is not important enough for a member of Guinevere´s ravens?”  
“W- what do you mean Emeline,” he said with a nervous expression on his face. “You know damn well what I mean Meryk and don´t go lying to me otherwise you´re not doing this job” she nearly shouted at him. He got a depressed expression on his face. “Figured you would find out sooner or later,” he muttered. “You better listen because I´m only telling this one time.” They went over to sit under a tree. “It all began once we went our separate ways, I was really depressed and didn´t know what to do when you were away.” “I started to go to fight clubs to distract myself, eventually it became an addiction.” “After one of my sessions in the fight club, I was being followed by a woman, I confronted her and we eventually began fighting.” “I got absolutely destroyed by her.” “All I managed was a single blow just enough to leave a bruise.” “Eventually I was knocked unconscious and dragged away.” “I woke up in a strange bed, I quickly noticed that there was a woman using me as a body pillow.” “I turned around only to see the woman who attacked me look me in the eyes with a wide smile and a blush on her face.” “I remember what she said as if it happened yesterday.” “You´re mine and mine alone Meryk nobody else will have you besides me.” “I didn´t know what happened so I just asked her why I was here.” “She explained to me that she recognized my skill when she was watching my fights, I only further confirmed those suspicions when I hit her during our fight turns out I was the first in years to actually get a hit on her.” “She said to me that she instantly fell in love with me when she saw how skilled I was.” “I rejected her but we bonded quickly and became close friends.” “She said that she wouldn´t stop trying to win me over and I said that maybe as time went on maybe the love would mutual at some point in time.” “She made me forget my sadness of you being away and filled my heart with joy and happiness.” “Than I heard about the members of the frostbite angels slowly disappearing.” “I was really broken during that time and Guinevere helped me trough it all.” “One day I was wandering through the complex of the ravens and I stumbled upon a door to a room I´ve never known of.” “I went inside the room and saw 3 members of the frostbite angels tortured to death inside that room.” “Jade was just barely alive I ran over her to help but she stopped me.” “She explained to how she abducted the members one by one and torture them to death.” “She said that it was so that I´d have no one left to go to besides her and I´d have no choice but to become her lover.” “She then whispered her final words to me.” “Avenge us Meryk, make the empire pay for what they´ve done.” “Shortly after she too died.” “That night when everyone was asleep I started a fire in the Raven´s headquarters and escaped I got out of it mostly unharmed aside from a burn mark on my neck.” Meryk looked to the side and pointed to the burn mark on his neck. “The only ones who survived the fire were me and Guinevere.” “To this day she still thinks I´m dead, although I have the feeling that will change shortly.” Emeline had tears in her eyes. “Why didn´t you just contact me Meryk?” she asked. “I didn´t want to ruin your happiness just because I was sad, that would just be selfish.” “I didn´t know he went through all this, I knew it would be bad but not something quite on this level.” she thought. “If only I would´ve paid more attention and if only I wouldn´t have been so weak I could have prevented all that.” Emeline looked at him shocked by what he just said. “No, I won´t let you walk around blaming yourself for what that horrible woman did to our comrades.” “It´s not your fault for what she did to you and our fallen brothers and sisters.” “Please, don´t tell my brother I will tell him when it comes to it but I don´t want his pity right now.” “I get it Meryk we´ll get through this together.” “We´ll have our revenge.” Meryk´s eyes looked watery. “Thank you for being there for me Em.” “I´ll always be there for you Meryk, we will have our revenge, and we´ll have it together.” 

-Meanwhile in the newly reformed Ravens headquarters-

A nervous Imperial messenger could be seen walking through the newly reformed Ravens headquarters. He knocked on the door of Guinevere´s private quarters. “General al Corvum, I´m here to deliver the list of potential members for the Ravens.” She opened the door and he was instantly afraid she let of a truly frightening aura. “Send the captain my regards” with that said she slammed the door shut and looked through the candidates only a select few caught her eye. She saw nothing truly extraordinary until she came to the last file. “Hmmm, two bounty hunting twins seems interesting she thought.” When she opened their file she just stood frozen from shock. “No no no, it can´t be him.” She began frantically flipping through his file until she came across the bounty guilds records and there it was a day ago in a village in the far east of the capital they completed a bounty. She immediately packed her equipment and set out for the east. “I will find you Meryk, I will make you mine again and this time you won´t escape from my arms.”


End file.
